Cattle Medicine PDF

PREFACE

The major objective of this book is to describe, with the aid of a large number of high-quality images, the important diseases of cattle encountered by veterinary surgeons in general practice and their diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and control. Wherever possible, the sequential images take the reader through all stages of the disease process, highlighting clinical features important in the diagnosis. The book is specifically aimed at fulfilling the need for a practical, concise text that will be of use to veterinary undergraduate students in their clinical years and later in farm practice. The book is not intended to be a fully referenced text covering bovine medicine in detail, as there are already such texts available.

The book is divided into chapters based on body system. Where appropriate, chapters open with a suggested approach to clinical examination of that body system rather than simply listing the disorders and diseases affecting that system. Such a systematic approach is more applicable to certain sections, such as the nervous, digestive and respiratory systems.

The book is based on the authors' experience of bovine medicine and surgery both in general practice and in a referral University hospital in the United Kingdom. While management and husbandry systems vary worldwide, the clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the major diseases do not. For example, the clinical signs of metabolic acidosis in 8–21-day-old calves are described with the important differential diagnoses, followed by discussion of the estimation of base deficit on the farm with a detailed description of the authors' treatment regimen. Several different methods are employed by veterinary surgeons in the UK, and many others worldwide, for spiking the intravenous solution with bicarbonate, but the principle is the same – to correct the estimated base deficit. It is not possible to describe every method used worldwide; rather, the authors have chosen the method they believe to work best based on a review of the literature and their clinical experience. Control by vaccination will depend on isolation of potential enteropathogens and the availability and cost of a suitable vaccine in that particular country.

Surgical correction of a left displaced abomasum is another good example where many different treatment options are used worldwide. The authors have described the two most commonly used surgical methods and discuss why these have been chosen; it is not possible to describe every method. Similarly, it is not possible within the limited text to detail the availability of all antibiotics and other drugs in individual countries worldwide, therefore treatments described are most relevant to UK veterinary practice. However, what the book does do is to give practical instruction, using sequential high-quality images, on how to recognize, treat and control the common conditions encountered in bovine practice, which, in most cases, cross national and international boundaries.